DENVER — Valley Hope Addiction Treatment and Recovery and University of Colorado Anschutz College of Nursing’s Sheridan Health Services are working together to provide a unique form of care to mothers with substance abuse disorder.
Valley Hope’s specialized treatment center called New Directions for Families (NDF), provides drug and alcohol treatment for women with children and pregnant women. New Directions offers counseling, therapy and parenting classes, in addition to recovery treatments. Patients receive their primary, prenatal and pediatric care through Sheridan.
“We call it the dyadic care model, and so we see moms and babies in the same appointment throughout pregnancy and beyond, and we have behavioral health integrated at each visit," Pamela Swenseid, family nurse practitioner and psychiatric nurse practitioner at Sheridan Health Services, said. "So you can see me, you can see the pediatrician, you can see your midwife, you can see the therapist, all in this room, and not have to go down to another wing or see a different provider.”
Danielle Kennedy is the Valley Hope alumni coordinator and has lived experience.
“I'm in recovery myself, five years, and I'm also a mom, and being a mom in recovery is very difficult,” Kennedy said. “I saw the need for mothers in recovery, and how I can give back to the same ones that have helped me along my journey.
"To be separated from your child, it's ultimately a terrible pain to have, and that's why New Direction, that program, it's such an amazing program, because it keeps the mother and the baby together, and through that time, they can build structure, learn coping skills, and then we can also help them with the continuing care plan, and that involves Sheridan.”
Swenseid said providing care in this way has helped lower the barrier to access.
“We think that by integrating care this way, it helps keep people engaged," Swenseid said. "And for moms with substance use disorders, it helps them. They have a safe place to come to and see everyone at the same time, and not worry about bus schedules, getting time off of work, just trying to really make it reduce barriers to care for them.”
Swenseid said they saw 35 moms last year, some of whom were still pregnant and others who had just had their babies, with some staying in the program for up to five years.
Ultimately, Swenseid and Kennedy say the goal is to make sure patients feel seen and supported.
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